Thursday, January 29, 2004

911

Yesterday at work a patron came up to me at the reference desk and told me that a lady down in the fiction reading room had reqested that he ask us to call 911 because she had dislocated her hip. Not wanting to call 911 without confirming the emergency I asked my co-worker Don to go down there and verify that we had an actual emergency. Don enthusiastically hopped up and walked down to the reading room and disappeared around the corner. Seconds later he reappeared and gave me the thumbs up.

I immediately called 911 and told the nice lady that we had a lady who had fallen down and dislocated her hip. She then started asking all kinds of questions concerning the injured. Things like is concsious? Is she breating normally? How old is she? How far did she fall? I didn't have an answer to any these questions so I asked if she would hold while I went to appraise her condition. She said, "go ahead, sparky."

I went down to the reading room and the lady was sitting in a chair at the table in obvious pain. Don was sitting with her and attempting to keep her company until the paramedics arrived. I asked her her age, she said 58 and I saw that she was fine but hurting.

I then went back to the phone and gave the 911 operator all the information that I had. She then informed me that the paramedics were on the way, not to move the victim, not to apply a splint and not to give her food or water and to go ahead and tail the victim that help was on the way. I walked back to where she was and told her that the paramedics were coming and that I was not to feed her. She caught my little joke, grimaced and said she wasn't hungry.

The paramedics arrived in less than ten minutes which was encouraging to me since we all may need emergency medical help someday. I can be less carfeful now when playing in the annual ice storm.

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Sledding

Those of you that grew up in more temperate climates missed out on sledding which is one of the great childhood winter activities.

During my second and third grade years we lived in an apartment complex in Traverse City, MI. My mother does not have fond memories of living in these apartments. I'm pretty sure she saw it as a step back socially since she had had her own home a few years earlier before she and my dad had their big ugly split.

I loved living at the apartment. Before that we had lived in a trailer and before that in the country. Having a bunch of kids around to run with was my idea of heaven. After my mother hooked up with my future step father we moved back to the country where you only saw friends in school or had to arrange to get driven to their homes or vicey versey.

At the edge of the complex, opposite the drive, was a hill covered in trees with a two-track road that curled around the hill. The road was lined with the trees and emptied into a marshland that froze over in the winter. We called the hill and it's curving downhill trail Deadman's Hill. I am sure every neighborhood in this country has a certain hill in which bikes or sleds are piloted down that is known by that name. Our hill was infamous because a kid once broke his arm sledding. It was one of the older kids so it much be dangerous is this larger proto-adult got bit by it.

As the winters would wear on the snow would get packed and would be perfect for runner sleds. Runner sleds were fast and turned really badly and I was scared of them. I stuck with the basic plastic sled you could stear with your gloved hands. Besides a runner sled really couldn't take the jump we had built at the bottom of hill. As far as I was concerned if a sledding run didn't end with air and a face full of snow it was a waste of time. I had also seen plenty of kids take their ill stearing runner sleds too wide in the turn and into the trees. Fuck that. Fun is fun but I crash into snow and ice, not trees.

All day today my youngest cat, Gallagher who has the personality of a 25 year old who once excelled in high school sports, has been bugging me to go outside. So a short while ago I hitched on his harness and took him out to meet Old Man Winter. He was annoyingly unfazed by the the white shit on the ground and proceded to eat the grass like he would have in the middle of spring.

Saturday, January 24, 2004

Let's rock

Yesterday I went to the dollar theater in Matthews with a friend to see the movie "The School of Rock."

I was pleasently surprised. It was really funny (good for a comedy) and was smarter than many many of the so-called children's movies I have seen occasionally. Don't get me wrong, it's no "Southpark: Bigger, longer and uncut" but I did laugh outloud several times.

I am always impressed by movies like "School of rock," "Shrek" and "Toy Story" that are able to amuse children and adults at the same time on different levels. I think the formula was perfected with Bugs Bunny cartoons and hasn't changed a whole lot since then.

Thursday, January 22, 2004

Chabon Quote

"All male friendships are essentially quixotic: they last only so long as each man is willing to polish the shaving-bowl helmet, climb on his donkey, and ride off after the other in pursuit of illusive glory and questionable adventure."

Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Not since 1984

Although I am a sports fan I am not one of them that allows sports to dominate their life. That being said I am very excited about the Carolina Panthers and their upcoming appearance in the Superduper Bowl. Not since the Tigers won the World Series in 1984 have I had a team that I consider my "home team" go this far in a playoffs in one of the major sports. You know, baseball and football.

Although I have been following the Chicago Cubs over the last few years I cannot give to them the same emotional loyalty that I can give to a team that plays their home games less than five miles from my front door. Sports may get too much attention in this country and I will probably stop following the story until a day or two before the Big Game but I say fuck it, Go Panthers!

Rock Show

This last Saturday Wendell, Walt, Walt's partner in crime,Wilson and I went and saw the Drive By Truckers play at the Visulate here in Charlotte. I hadn't been to the Visulite in almost a year and I think it may be the best venue to see a band in the city. It's a club where short people can see the band all night. I just wish they would bring in more bands I like. I'd go there all the time if they did.

The Truckers came out about 10:30 and rocked the house. They were still rocking the house when Wendell and left a little after one. It sure was fun to see a band that lives to play live.

I was surprised by the large turnout for the show. The last time I saw the Truckers in Charlotte they played at the Double Door in front of about 30 people. I was lucky that night because it was right around the time Southern Rock Opera came out they played most of it that night. That was special.

Saturday they promised to make the Visulite a regular stop on their tour schedule. I sure hope they keep that promise.

Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Driving

Today I had to drive down N. Tryon St to sign a document in order to get the tags for my newish car. It was something I should have signed before but the dealer messed up the paperwork. No big deal. I don't have to be in to work until noon so I got time to run down there and sign the paper. It only took a minute and I was back on the road around 11:40, cutting through town, racing the clock to the Southpark area. I lost by seven minutes. Good news, though. I was able to tie my tie in one try today. Pretty good for me.

I noticed while driving through town today how pretty the sky was. The winter sun is different here in the Piedmont. The light is weaker than it is in the summer but it has a warm quality to it. From about 11 am on today it felt like sunset was an hour away. The towers downtown caught the low angled light and stood out more than usual. I felt like I could touch them like you do with stars on a cold clear night.

My route to work took me through the older areas of Charlotte and remembered again that Charlotte is a pretty southern city if you stay away from the University area and south Charlotte.

Monday, January 12, 2004

Here They Come

Remember the day you first played the album Frizzle Fry by Primus back in 1990? I sure do. I don't remember where I read the review that caused me to buy the cassette. It was either Creative Loafing or Rolling Stone.

As soon as I put the newly-purchased cassette in the player of my crappy Ford Tempo I was hooked. I drove around South Charlotte for over half an hour and had no desire to go home until the album ended. I had never heard anything at all like Primus before in my life. They were loud like the metal bands. They played with tempo and silence like Zeppelin. They had quirky and intelligent lyrics like Tom Waits. They were what I had been looking for.

Yesterday I went to the soon to be closed Manifest Discs and bought the new DVD/CD by Primus called "Animals should not try to act like people." It' a gold mine. It has every single video they ever made along with some amateurish documentaries, old concert footage and concert footage of a couple of songs from each album period. The CD is five new songs by the band's original lineup. All this for twenty bucks!

You gotta love this DVD stuff that allows bands to pack so much material into a small inexpensive package.

Thursday, January 08, 2004

Best of? What the fuck?

I went a-searching today for episodes of the Muppet Show on DVD. I was hoping I might be able to buy a complete seasons of the show. Hell no. Instead they package three episodes onto one DVD and call it a series that goes by "Best of..." What a rip. Just package whole seasons together, you gouging bastards.

Yesterday, as I was walking aimlessly through Harris Teeter trying to remember what I need to purchase because I never make a grocery list, I noticed that instead of saving forty cents when you purchase a two-liter Mountain Dew with your VIC card that you now save fifty cents! Of course, they raised the retail price by ten cents and still sell the two-liter Mountain Dew for ninety-nine cents thereby increasing my savings but still, that VIC card is really making our world (yours and mine) better.

Tuesday, January 06, 2004

When I work till nine

I know I have mentioned before how much I love working from noon until nine. Just in case you forgot I love it because I am a night person and like to sleep until nine every morning and rush hour is a word not associated with getting to work at noon or going home at nine.

From where I am sitting I can see cars and fucking SUV's lined up on a crescent shaped intersection as they try to merge form Morrison Blvd onto Colony. The sun is setting and the top halves of the leafless trees are red and fiery and the bottoms be gray and ashy. Tail lights glow like the devil's eyes and the angry drivers feel their blood pressure rise.

Not me, you sucks, I'm sitting in a library listening to my co-workers discussing films and books under the gentle hum of our air conditioner. Enjoy your 45 minute drive home!

Sunday, January 04, 2004

The ugly side of alcohol

Last night started out nice. I went over to my friends' Granville and Sierra, home to watch the Carolina Panthers trounce the Dallas Cowboys in our first playoff game in many years. A co-worker of Granville and Sierra called Christian came by also. He grew up in Dallas and I felt his pain as much as I could while enjoying a great victory.

Granville has a nice new widescreen flatscreen television. He had not sold his old television until last night. He sold it to me for $100. After the game I went home, hooked up my new television, cracked open a brew and fired up the Xbox for the first time in a coule of days. I was enjoying myself and getting ready to wrap up my evening when Wendell came home from a bar with our mutual friend, C.B. in tow.

Initially I wasn't concerned. CB has been known to over imbibe and he does occasionally crash at our place when he goes to see live music at a nearby bar. I don't have a problem with that. He has had DWI's before and I would prefer a drunk on my couch to having to bail him out at 8 am.

After about ten seconds of his wobbling and angry presence I realized I was in for a long night. He yelled, he self-loathed, he asked me to hit him, he said we hated him, then he hated us, he loved us, he loved the musicians he saw that night, we were disloyal fucks because we weren't there, he left twice and came back, then he hated us again, then he fell and cut his eye, then he wanted me to hit him again, then he wanted us to drive him to his car so he could drive home, then he said people don't want to accept him as he is and then he passed out. This went on for almost four hours.

Someone needs to STOP drinking. I hate to admit and I've come to this realization before when he has gotten this blind raging druink that my friend is an alcoholic. He won't admit, he can't have a few beers, take a piss and go to bed. What do you do? Do you drive this person from your life, even though he's an old friend, if he won't change? I don't want to do that but I can't take another nightmare like last night. It was ugly and sad.

Saturday, January 03, 2004

A missing question

I guess it's standard now for every news and/or sports website to have a poll going at all times. When I come across a poll that interests me I participate. When I come across a poll I care nothing about I am always disappointed that there is not an option for me. It should go something like this...

Q: Is USC the best college football team in the country?

1) Yes.
2) No.
3) They still play college football?
4) I don't give a flying fuck.

Every poll offered on the internet should have some variation of the last two questions. I think then the polling will be more accurate.

Well, it finally happened. My roommate's television died about four hours ago. What the fuck? Now I am going to start reading again. I was making some kick-ass fucking nachos for dinner and I had the Rose Bowl on in the background and I look around the corner from the kitchen (after giving my pitiful cat a spoonful of thoroughly cooked beef) to see a strange living room where the audio from the telvision broadcasters is coming through bright and clear but the television is a dark eye. Wendell is gonna be pissed. The television is not that old.

I walk over and hit the manual off/on switch a few times but all the television manages to do is make a noise like it's getting ready start up. That noise that sounds like a big slow lightbulb coming on. Then it makes a noise similar to an electrical spark and then stops. I had to break out the cheap 12-inch back up television so I could watch Primary Colors on the We network.

On that note what is up with We and commericials? Jesus Christ, I was really enjoying the movie and every ten minutes there would be a commercial break advertising what I assume were female slanted products and services. Maybe women pee more frequently than men. I didn't even make it to the point where Travolta's character confronts the young fellow who wants to resign. His Clinton-like character looks at the guy and smiles, knowing they have won the party's nomination, and says, "You can't quit now!" I love that part. The young man turns in his soul and goes on to victory. I have always liked the message of that movie: in order to achieve real power you have to check your soul at the door. Machievelli anyone?

Now, on to what I really logged to do

Remember when I mentioned that Chris and I went to 40 acre rock in Lancaster County, SC? I don't. Heck, I can't even remember what I had for dinner. No, wait, it was nachos. Damn, they were good. I can whup up a nice plate of nachos, man. But, dummy me, I accidently bought fat-free mozzarella cheese at the Harris Teeter. I had to resort to using only cheddar. I threw the fat-free cheese away. It tastes like shit. An old neighbor of mine once said that throwing away food is a sin but, fuck that, fat free cheese sucks. Besides that old neighbor of mine used the "n word" desperately so what the fuck does he know?

Get on to 40 acre rock, you idiot

Ok, I finally set this new computer up so I can manipulate and post pictures again. This first shot is of Chris standing at the summit of the giant granite rock. Notice how it slopes away behind him. I was expecting a flat rock but it's actually a giant boulder which is much cooler.

That's almost interesting, do you have another?

Sure. This next photo is of a shallow pool at the top of the rock. These mini lilly pads are surviving in about half an inch of rough soil. The water is less than four inches deep. I like how it almost looks like a pond or small lake because of how tiny the plants are. I had to get down on my belly to take this photo. No sacrifice is too uncomfortable for my photography.

Is there more there than just some big goddamn rock?

You betcha. You can follow a trail down the rock. There is a creek that curves around the rock's base. In this photo Chris is squatting next to the creek. The rock is actually behind him. Where we are in this pic is the spot where the creek starts to move away from the rock. This was in the early afternoon of the winter solstice and you can see how weak the light already is.

Are you sure it's a big boulder?

I think this picture shows how round this big rock is. You can see its slope and also a rivulet in the forground. There are several of these streams that have been carving noticeable paths in the granite over millions (billions?) of years.

Life is already too short or is too long?

I saw in a news headline (no I didn't read the story) that the earth's orbit is getting faster. Does that mean time will speed up or slow down? I think that means time will slow down. Thank god, I have so much I need to accomplish.